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' G. STORM.

ART'OB TREATING TOBACCO. Y 'No. 337,457. Patented Man; 9, 1886.

PATENT mos,

GEORGE STORM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ART OF TREATING TOBACCO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 337,457, dated March 9, 1886.

Application filed Decomher2, 1885. Serial No.184,511. (No specimens.)

To all whom/ zit may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE STORM, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have discovered and invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Art of Treating Tobacco, for which I made application for Letters Patent August 17, 1885, Serial No. 174,554, of which the following is a divisional specification.

Before tobacco is manufactured it usually undergoes a fermentation, which, in thefirst instance, is generally caused by the humidity and warmth of the atmosphere acting upon the natural elements of the tobacco, and this is termed sweating. In addition to this first sweat the tobacco, before it can be used for certain purposes, is moistened, or cased, as it is termed, and subjected to an artificial heat, which causes it to again ferment, and this fermentation is known as resweating. The sweating and resweating deprives the tobacco of part of its gum or juice, and produces different colors from what appeared upon the curing or drying of the tobacco after being cut and taken from the plantations. The natural sweat or fermentation has heretofore been practically uncontrollable, and consequently very uneven colors are produced by it, some portions of the leaf being dark while others are light, besides which it weakens the texture during the period necessary foraging; and if very bright colors are desired, as is frequently the case, particularly where it is to be manufactured into smoking-tobacco, the sweat or natural fermentation is liable to continue until the tobacco either becomes too dark or too mottled to be used for purposes for which it would otherwise have been Well adapted. The natural sweat also leaves the tobacco in a condition, as to color and appearance, which oftentimes unfits it for use in the manufacture of cigars, and to overcome these efiects by producing even or uniform colors, as well as to further eliminate or neutralize its rank elements, the tobacco is generally subjected to the resweating process before being worked up. In the resweating process fermentation is induced and kept up for a certain length of time, according to what are deemed to be the requirements of the tobacco with reference to the uses to which it is to be put. In determining the length of time during which this as different lots or Vegas fermentation under precisely the same condi; tions would be very fermentation should be continued one of the most important factors to be taken into consideration is the shade or color which it is desired to produce, and this is especially true where light or medium colors are wanted. In

order to bring the tobacco to the desired shade and to keep it from becoming too dark, the op-- erator has to examine it while it is under treatment, because no certain length of time at fixedtemperatures can be depended upon, inasmuch of tobacco put into differently afiected by it,- owing to the difference in their texture or constituent elements, caused, partially at least, by the climatic influence exercised upon the tobacco during its growth. Thejudgment of the operator must therefore be taken as the criterion as to when fermentation should cease; but his judgment is dependent upon the ap-. pearance of the tobacco when examined by him, and what then seems to him to be its empyreumatic properties or odors, as well as the condition of its texture. If the tobacco appears to be sufficiently fermented,

it is taken from under the direct influence of the artificial heat, which during the process of resweating is made to act upon it, and satisfactory results might be obtained in most instances by this method of treatment if the tobacco could be worked up at once, other influences did not continue to affect it. It is not always practicable,however,to manu-- facture the tobacco as soon as it is taken from the resweating process, and more frequently than otherwise it remains for a considerable length of time in packages or piles of some magnitude, and while in this condition the fermentation already induced continues to such an extent as to certain degree, because this after fermentation has heretofore been quite as uncontrollable as the natural sweat. Whether the tobacco has been under the resweating process or not, the rooms in which it is stored have, from mistaken ideas,generally been kept warm or moderately so during the whole year, the temperature, however, being susceptible to the influences occasioned by changes of the weather; and the warmth of the rooms, together with the humidity of the atmosphere at times, act upon the inherent elements of the tobacco,

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affect the tobacco to a very un- IOC which give it a natural propensity to ferment when in a moist condition and placed in bulk or sufficiently large packages, thus causing fermentation or sweat. If the tobacco has been previously resweated and is but a short time from the process, the fermentation continues, and this after fermentationis kept up partially by the condition of the store-rooms and partially by the heat from the resweating process which it still retains. The effects of such fer mentation and the continuance of the resweating fermentation occasion injuries to the tobacco, because fermentation, aside from evaporating a portion of the gum or juice of the tobacco, brings it to the surface and loosens it to such an extent that it is inclined to flow or work its way to the veins, whiclnacting as con duits, lead it to the stem through or along which it either runs off or is absorbed; and. the hitherto uncontrollable fermentation, whether induced from natural causes or forming a conti nuance of the resweating process, keeps depriving the tobacco of its gum, and of course weakening its texture. Moreover, it is necessary that a certain percentage'of gum should be retained by the tobacco in order to give luster or gloss to its surface as well as strength and elasticity to its texture. Besides this, the tobacco when resweated should not continue to ferment longer than is deemed necessary while it is under the process, because when the operator determines the fermentation to have been sufficient his judgment is based upon results already apparent to him, and additional fermentation not only deprives the tobacco of more gum than should be taken from it, but also changes its color from that which it was intended to have, and these after effects not infrequently render the tobacco unfit for the use to which it would other wise have been put, and consequently its value is depreciated.

After experimenting for some time I have discovered a practical method of treating tobacco whereby I am enabled to control the sweat or fermentation, and to settle and retain so much of the gum as it is desired the tobacco shall possess, as well as to insure the required shades of color and to improve the texture.

My method of tneatmentconsistsin first subjecting the tobacco to theintluence of heat until fermentation is induced and kept up for a sufficient time, and there arresting the fer-.

mentation by subjecting the tobacco to the influence ofa refrigerating agent, and keeping it under such influence until the fermentation has ceased and the gum becomes settled, and, if need be, in repeating the alternate influences of heat and refrigeration until the desired results are obtained.

In practice I may carry my process of treatment into effect by any suitable mechanical means, making use of suitable heating appliances by means of which fermentation may be reducechand of any refrigerating agent adapted to have the desired action or the tobacco.

In the drawing I have shown as one means of applying the refrigerating agent a series of pipes, N O P Q, located in a room in which tobacco may be stored, such pipes being intended to have connections with a refrigerating-machine made to cause a circulation of ammonia-gas, cold brine, or other refrigerating agent, through the pipes in the room. Such a means would probably be too expensive for the treatment of small quantities of tobacco; but it would be well adapted for use in the treatment of large quantities kept in storage in a warehouse or store-room.

For the treatment of small quantities of tobacco I prefer to construct a room in the form of a small ice'house, leaving sullicient space in the center for thetobacco which is to be put under treatment, and in this connection to use ice as the refrigerating agent.

For the purpose of heating the tobacco, in order to induce fermentation or sweat, a room similar to that shown in thedrawing buthaving pipes therein which are connected with a heating apparatus, may be used, as well as may any ordinary sweat-room. If the rooms in which the tobacco is stored are not sufficiently warm to sweat the tobacco, it is taken and sweated in an artificially-heated room to the precise extentrequired, when the fermentation is arrested by subjecting the tobacco to the influence of the refrigerating agent until the gum becomes settled and the fermentation ceases, or, if desired, until the tobacco is required for use. 7

Where the tobacco has been marketed with no more care than has heretofore been eXercised respecting its treatment, or it it has received no special treatment, my method of treatment may commence with arresting natural fermentation, if there be any, or 1 may continue the aging of the tobacco, under the effects of refrigeration, until such time as it is putinto the resweatingprocess. As soon as the tobacco has been snflicientl y resweated or fermented to eliminate, if need be, its rank elements or produce the desired shades of color, I take it from the process of resweating and sub ject it to the influence of the refrigerating agent until the gum becomes settled and fermentation ceases, and, if necessary, until such time as the tobacco is required for use. Sometimes, however, Icom mence my course of treat-men t by refrigeration after the tobacco has been put into the resweating process and is suificientl y resweated in which case the fermentation is arrested and the flow of the gum stayed in the manner before stated.

I find that the alternate action of heat and refrigeration are beneficial when they can be controlled and carried to such an extent simply as may be requisite to obtain the ultimate results to bereached. It sometimes happens, however, that the tobacco is of such a nature as to require unusual care in its treatment, and

effect upon IIO same? I find that beneficial results may in some instances be obtained by regulating the degrees agent as to secure temperatures which produce directly opposite efiects upon the tobacco. Again, it may be desirable to determine beforehand the temperature at which the refrigerating agent is to act, and, having the atmosphere of the room into which the tobacco is to be put at the particular temperature decided upon, the tobacco under fermentation may be taken and subjected to refrigeration at the predetermined temperature. In other instances it may be necessary or advisable to vary the temperature of the refrigerating-room during the course of treatment. The different conditions under which the tobacco is subjected to the influence of the refrigerating agent are, however, variations of detail,which, like those of the resweating process, are to a certain extent dependent upon the requirements of the tobacco under treatment, as determined by the judgment of the operator.

From the experiments which Ihave made I have demonstrated to my entire satisfaction the beneficial results attained by the treatment of tobacco by subjecting it alternately to the influence of heat and a refrigerating agent, and I regard such treatment as being very important, inasmuch as the constant and uncontrolled draining of the gum from the tobacco, which has heretofore taken place, isinjurious to the texture and changes the shades of color. Not only so, such draining is liable to, and in many instances does, continue until the fiber becomes dry and brittle and assumes a dead appearance, which, even though'the tobacco be moistened to permit of its manipulation, will soon reappear; and if the tobacco has been manufactured into cigars the sale of such cigars injures the reputation of the manufacturer, because smokers, as a rule, desire fresh glossy cigars, and no cigars can be kept fresh for more than a short time unless the tobacco possesses the requisite amount of gum and has sufficient strength of texture to enable them to withstand the atmospheric influences to which they are subjected when put on sale.

1 do not here claim, broadly, the process of 5 treating tobacco by subjecting it to the influence of a refrigerating agent, the same being the subject of another application of which this is a division; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The improvement in the art of treating tobacco,whereby its texture is improved and the desired colors are obtained,which consists in subjecting it alternately to the influences of heat and refrigeration, substantially as described.

2. The iniproveme'nt in the art of treating tobacco under sweat or fermentation, which consists in arresting fermentation by subjecting the tobacco to the influence of a refrigerating agent, then again inducing fermentation by subjecting it to the action of heat, t-hen arresting fermentatiomas before, and keeping the tobacco under the influences of heat and refrigeration until the desired results are produced and fermentation ceases, substantially as described.

GEORGE STORM. Witnesses:

EDWARD F. MURPHY, PETER MILLER, Jr. 

